The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna (Avery and Gideon) novel Chapter 570

Avery’s POV

I lifted my hand and pinched a strand of hair between my fingers, pulling it away from my shoulder to get a better look. It was the same brown color it always was, light strands mixed with dirty blonde.

Not silver. Not anymore.

But I could still feel the warmth. The same warmth I’d used to feel, years ago, back before a lifetime of hurt got between me and the faith I used to hold onto like a lifeline.

I looked up. The moon hung high between the branches, near-full, still a night off from the dizzying, bright blue light of the Blue Moon, and for the first time in longer than I could remember, looking at it didn’t feel like I was just looking at the sky.

I felt like I was looking at her.

She was there. I could feel her the way I’d felt her in the dream. Warm and certain, patient yet righteous. Terrifying when she wanted to be, but always gentle, never cruel.

Ten years of not praying, not tending the shrine, not once looking up and thanking her for any of it. And she was still here, waiting for me to come back to her with a warm, silver embrace.

In that moment, I knew I’d passed the test.

Bjorn was watching me from where he sat, waiting for an answer I hadn’t given him yet.

“She’s watching over us,” I said. “That’s all.”

He blinked, clearly a little confused, but he didn’t press the matter. Melissa was still groaning beside us, on her back now, sweat coating her brow. He helped me get her up, and then we moved away from the boulders.

“I’m a little mad,” I admitted with a soft, wry laugh. “But I’m glad you did it.”

“Really?” he looked up at me.

Nodding, I reached out and cupped his face in both hands, the same way I had back in the hut the second I got my hands on him. Like I feared we might be ripped away from each other once more, for the last time, and I needed to memorize every bit of his face as if I hadn’t already done that so many times over the past ten years. As if I didn’t already know his face better than my own.

“You found me, Bjorn. You did that. Not your dad. Not one single adult who should have believed you.” My throat tightened. “I don’t think I’ve ever been less mad at you in my life.”

His eyes went wide, caught off guard.

“You’re going to do great things,” I told him. “I’ve always known that about you. But tonight, you proved it.”